Catheters such as guide catheters can be subject to a number of often conflicting performance requirements such as flexibility, strength, minimized exterior diameter, maximized interior diameter, and the like. In particular, there can be a balance between a need for flexibility and a need for strength or column support. If a catheter is sufficiently flexible to reach and pass through tortuous vasculature, the catheter may lack sufficient column strength to remain in position while, for example, subsequent treatment devices are advanced through the catheter.
Some medical procedures require a method of occluding blood flow distally of a treatment site, while other procedures benefit from occluding blood flow proximally of a treatment site. While a balloon catheter can be used to occlude blood flow, inclusion of a balloon catheter requires either a separate inflation lumen through a guide catheter or a substantial amount of the lumen space within the guide catheter devoted to inflation.
A need remains for a catheter such as a guide catheter that can provide desired strength versus flexibility characteristics. A need remains for a catheter such as a guide catheter that can occlude blood flow without sacrificing the interior lumen space otherwise required by a conventional balloon catheter.